Uri nara, our nation: Unification, identity and the emergence of a new nationalism amongst South Korean young people.

Emma Louise Gordon Campbell August 2011

A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of The Australian National University

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DECLARATION

Except where otherwise acknowledged, this thesis is my own work.

Emma Campbell

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Preface I first encountered Korea in 1996 when I was studying Chinese at a university in Beijing. Aside from a large group of British students from the University of Leeds, of which I was one, most other students learning Chinese were from South Korea. By the late 1990s, South Korean students already constituted the majority of foreign students in China. My room-mate was Korean as were most of my friends and as we spoke to each other in our common language Chinese I first came to discover Korea. My Korean friends introduced me to Korean food in restaurants run by Chaoxianzu or Joseonjok (Korean-Chinese) in the small Korea-town that had emerged to service the growing South Korean community in Beijing. During that stay in Beijing I also travelled to North Korea for the first time and then in the following year, 1998, to Seoul. It was during the 1990s that attitudes to North Korea amongst young South Koreans appear to have started their evolution. These changes coincided with the growth of travel by young South Koreans for study and leisure. Koreans travelling overseas were encountering foreigners of a similar age from countries such as the UK and discovering that they had more in common with them than the Joseonjok in the Korean restaurants of Beijing or North Koreans who, as South Koreans would soon learn, were facing starvation and escaping in ever growing numbers into China. South Korea also had its own problems in that period. In the late 1990s, the South Korean economy faced near collapse following the 1997 Economic Crisis. For the first time, South Korea faced redundancies and the collapse of huge chaebol including the Daewoo and Hanbo conglomerates. In December of the same year, the veteran opposition leader Kim Dae Jung was elected to power becoming the 8th President of South Korea after his inauguration in February 1998. By 1999, the economy had experienced a dramatic recovery and Kim embarked on his Sunshine Policy toward North Korea. This culminated in 2000 with the historic summit in Pyongyang between Kim Dae Jung and Kim Il Sung, leader of North Korea. This did nothing to slow the increasing numbers of North Koreans arriving in the South but it did make South Koreans more conscious of the North and its problems. Just at the time when many in South Korea began to understand the vulnerability of the South Korean economy and society to global economic and financial events, they also started to

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comprehend the dire situation of North Korea and the reality of the challenges that unification might bring. Although my first visit to the Korean Peninsula was the trip I made to North Korea in 1997, it was the modern, fun, fashionable South Korea that attracted me to Korean culture. All the British students studying with me in Beijing were impressed by the South Korea students’ array of electronic equipment in their dormitory rooms. We watched Korean dramas with them which they translated into Chinese for us. We drank coffee together in the smart Korean-style coffee shops that had sprung up in Beijing and ate patbingsu, a delicious desert made of shaved ice and sweetened red bean paste topped with condensed milk. I copied the style of my female Korean friends, with their immaculate make-up and attention to style. I read, for the first time, the story of South Korea’s economic and political rise. Looking back to this period in my life, the beginnings of this thesis were already in play. The pace of globalisation was picking up and new networks were beginning to develop. Typical young South Koreans were having more contact with Joseonjok either at home or abroad and they were also learning more about North Koreans. The manifestations of South Korean global-cultural nationalism: modernity, cosmopolitan-enlightenment and status were just beginning to be formed. Hints at the possibility of foreigners being accepted into Korean society were starting to show – foreigners and Koreans mingled as friends easily and the first Korean-speaking foreigner became a television star in South Korea1. However on my first trip to Seoul in 1998 I was conscious that, as a tall, blonde, foreign female, I was still seen as something unusual. When I travelled around Korea with my Korean friends I sensed that I attracted a lot of attention. The shaping of the South Korean globalised-cultural nationalism was beginning to be seen when I returned to Seoul in 2007 to carry out my research for this thesis. In Seoul, at least, people seemed unperturbed dealing with foreign customers. In shops or cafes the young people behind the counter were happy to converse in either English or Korean. Often I was served in restaurants by Joseonjok who quietly conversed in Chinese with me out of earshot of the Korean customers. It was relatively easy to meet North Koreans – students at my university, through church or community groups or volunteer English language classes. I 1

The first mainstream non-ethnic Korean TV personality was Ida Daussy. Daussy is a French-born naturalised citizen of Korea who married a Korean man in 1991 and gained widespread popularity on television as a presenter and guest on a variety of Korean television shows http://ida-daussy.com/index.php (viewed 14/08/2011).

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joined the alien registration queue at immigration with Iraqis, Somalis, Swedes, Kazakhs, Belarusians, Nigerians, and Chinese. And for the first time, when I am in a nail salon of all places, and in front of other colleagues and customers, the young manicurist says openly and passionately ‘I hate the idea of unification’. Alongside the inspiration gained from my ongoing love of Korea, this thesis would not have been possible without the support of a number of people. I would first like to thank the Chair of my supervisory panel Professor Paul Hutchcroft for his guidance, encouragement and enthusiasm for my work. He is wise and thoughtful and yet welcomes challenge and debate from his students. And although extremely busy as Director of ANU’s School of International, Political and Strategic Studies is absolutely committed to his students and can always find time for an uplifting anecdote to lighten any thesis meeting! Next, I am grateful to my supervisor Professor Hyung-a Kim. Professor Kim recognised the importance of my research right from the beginning and has supported me throughout my PhD. She has been extremely generous in sharing both her knowledge and contacts enabling both my fieldwork and writing. Professor Kim has often welcomed me to her home where I discovered that she is not only a great academic but also a great cook of Korean food! Third, I would like to thank my advisor Dr. Ed Aspinall, who although joined my panel at the later stages of my thesis writing, always found time to support and guide my work throughout my period at ANU. My understanding of nationalist theory, in particular, developed as a result of his knowledge and guidance. He is also a great head of department who has encouraged a warm, friendly and fun atmosphere in the Department of Political and Social Change. The Korean Studies department at ANU reach out to all students of Korea, whatever their discipline: Professor Ken Wells sponsored my application to ANU; Professor Hyae-weol Choi provides wonderful leadership to the Korean community at ANU and gave me advice on a number of chapter drafts; and Dr. Ruth Barraclough has been a great support to both my thesis writing and Korean language learning. I would like to thank International Relations Professor Bill Tow who provided me with the opportunity to publish my first journal article. The Korea Institute Post-doctoral Fellow, Dr. Park Sang-young was a great mentor and sonbae as I completed my thesis. I also wish to thank all of the academics, staff and students in my department who have supported me throughout the PhD process. vii

I would especially like to thank Professor Tessa Morris-Suzuki who has been a mentor and friend to me. She provided me with many wonderful opportunities to develop my academic skills and career and showed me the power of academia to effect real change. She is a truly wonderful academic, activist and person. I was supported for three years by a Korean Studies of Australasia-Korea Foundation Postgraduate Fellowship. The Korea Foundation is a fantastic supporter of students of Korean studies. I am also grateful for the generous fieldwork funding received from the Cheung Kong Endeavour Research Fellowship, the Australia-Korea Foundation and the ANU. My research assistant Sohn Yelin has been central to the success of this project. Yelin is brilliant, bright and committed to many activist causes and it was fun and inspiring to work with her. I want to thank my ‘Korean family’ at the hasukjip who take care of me like a daughter and sister whenever I am in Korea and my friends Chang Eun-shil and Park Hyun-a. Professor Park Myung-gu and all the team at the Institute for Peace and Unification Studies were kind and generous hosts to my research in Korea. I am also grateful to my wonderful friends Lee Eun-koo and Lee Ja-un who inspired me to become interested in North Korea with their amazing work. Thanks go to my friends Scott and Katrina who have been so kind to me, in particular taking care of my cat during my fieldwork and to Masha and Timo who welcomed me to Canberra when I first arrived. Yonjae, Jeongyoon and little Gitae are wonderful friends in Canberra who always had time to help me with Korean language, to share interesting articles and discuss the issues on Korea raised by this thesis. I also want to thank my best friends Ruth and Keri in the UK who always make me smile. As a dual Australian and British national, I chose to do my PhD in Australia in part to get to know the country and my family here. I have loved every minute of living in Australia. I want to thank Fran, Bruce, Marianna and Tom for encouraging me to do my PhD in the first place and looking after me so well. I also want to thank Sally and Ross for providing me with a home away from home and Mary, Cousin Bill and Bruce for providing me with a bit of luxury from time to time! I want to thank all of my Australian family who have welcomed me so warmly especially my lovely cousin Meg.

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Finally, thank you to my parents who are wonderful, kind and caring people and my inspiration for all I do in life. They have supported me absolutely throughout this thesis including the arduous task of proof-reading carried out with complete dedication and love by my Father. This thesis is dedicated to my Father Quentin Campbell and his mother, my Grandmother, Norma Campbell, also known as the artist Norma Norton, in recognition of the special place Australia and my Australian family will always have in my life.

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Glossary of terms

Bukhan MR: Chaebol RR: Jaebeol Chaoxianzu Daehanminguk Danil minjok DPRK GNP Han minjok Hanbok Hanguk Saram IPUS Isipdae Jaeil gypo Joseon saram Joseonjok KBS Koryoin Namhan North Korea PCNB ROC ROK Sa-il-gu SNU SERI South Korea TOEFL TOEIC Uri Uri nara Zainichi

North Korea (South Korean terminology) Large Korean conglomerates such as Samsung Chinese term for Korean-Chinese The Republic of Korea One ethnic nation Democratic People’s Republic of Korea Grand National Party One people Korean traditional dress (South Korean terminology A citizen of South Korea Institute for Peace and Unification Studies, Seoul National University Twenty-somethings Korean term for Koreans living in Japan A citizen of North Korea Korean term for Korean-Chinese Korea Broadcasting System Ethnic-Koreans from the former USSR South Korea (South Korean terminology) The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea Presidential Council on National Branding Republic of China Republic of Korea April 19th Revolution, the student uprising against the Rhee Syngman government in 1960 Seoul National University Samsung Economic Research Institute The Republic of Korea Test of English as a Foreign Language Test of English for International Communication Our, we, us Our nation Japanese term for Koreans living in Japan

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Notes on terms and romanisation

The term ‘Korea’ is used both to refer to the Republic of Korea (South Korea) and prepartitioned Korea. South Korea is used for emphasis where required. The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is referred to throughout as North Korea. All Korean words have been romanised according to the Revised Romanisation system. Exceptions are names of authors who have published in English using a different spelling and where well known names of people, places or publications use another form of romanisation, for example Park Chung Hee or newspaper titles such as the Chosun Ilbo. Korean names are written according to the standard usage in Korean with surnames preceding given names. I have included surname and given names for all references using Korean names. This thesis is written using British English. Date order reflects British English usage (day, month, year). American English may be used in the bibliography according to the original book title, journal title and so on.

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Abstract

Uri nara, our nation: Unification, identity and the emergence of a new nationalism amongst South Korean young people This research project investigates the growing ambivalence and antagonism of South Korean young people toward unification with North Korea. Historically, ideas of nation and identity, and thus unification, have been based upon the ethnic and cultural homogeneity of all Korean people. More recently, there has emerged a new type of nationalism based on strikingly different notions of identity. This work addresses the central puzzle of how long-held views of Korean nation and national identity have been challenged so dramatically in recent years – in particular amongst the young. Using data obtained from over 90 interviews, surveys and other documentary evidence collected in the field, I show how negativity toward unification with North Korea is increasing and argue that a new South Korean nationalism has arisen amongst South Korea’s young people. This new nationalism is demonstrated both by the changing attitudes to unification and North Korea and by a growing sense of national pride and confidence in South Korea. The new nationalism can be described as a globalised-cultural nationalism, reflecting the central role played by globalisation in its construction and expression. This work contests the assumption that unification ‘is the hope of all Koreans’ and the inevitable outcome for the Korean peninsula. It contributes to understanding short-term challenges as more North Koreans move to the South and provides insights into longer-term preparations for possible reunification. From a theoretical perspective, this thesis builds upon existing nationalist literature by exploring the development of nationalism in established nations, and describing the importance and role of globalisation in the evolution of modern nationalist sentiment.

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Uri nara, our nation: Unification, identity and the emergence of a new nationalism amongst South Korean young people

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Declaration of originality

iii

Preface

v

Glossary of terms

xi

Notes on terms and romanisation

xiii

Abstract

xv

Table of contents

xvii

List of Tables

xxiii

List of Figures

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1. Introduction

1

1.1. The aims of this thesis and the central puzzle it addresses

3

1.2. Theoretical framework: the three levels of nationalism

4

1.2.1. Causal theories of nationalism and the analysis of the emergence of nations 6 1.2.1.1.

Primordialism

7

1.2.1.2.

Constructivism

8

1.2.1.3.

Instrumentalism

9

1.2.2. Types and categories of nationalism

10

1.2.3. Manifestations of nationalism

12

1.3. Defining nationalism

13

1.4. A brief history of Korean nationalism

14

1.5. Current discussions of Korean nationalism

19

1.6. Chapter outline

23

2. Korea’s nationalist student movement 2.1. Introduction

29 xvii

2.2. The colonial and pre-division era

31

2.3. Sa-il-gu and the demise of the Rhee Syngman regime

33

2.4. Park Chung Hee’s rise to power, normalisation of relations with Japan and Yusin 37 2.4.1. Park Chung Hee’s rise to power

37

2.4.2. Korea-Japan normalisation negotiations

40

2.4.3. The student movement under the Yusin Constitution

42

2.5. The 1980s, Gwangju and anti-Americanism

3.

45

2.5.1. The Gwangju Democratic Uprising

46

2.5.2. Anti-Americanism

48

2.5.3. Unification

50

2.6. The 1990s

52

2.7. Conclusion

52

Changing attitudes to unification and the formation of uri nara in the image of the South 3.1. Introduction 55 3.2. ‘North Korea fatigue’: Falling interest in North Korea and unification amongst young people 57 3.3. Ambivalence and antagonism towards unification 62 3.4. Pro-unification sentiment

64

3.5. Perceptions (and realities) of difference between North and South Korea

66

3.5.1. Language

68

3.5.2. Perceptions of difference in lifestyle

70

3.5.3. Tangible differences

72

3.6. Motivations for unification – han minjok and uri nara

73

3.7. Motivations for unification – South Korean motivations for unification

78

3.8. Undertones of colonialisation

80

3.9. The meaning of ‘uri nara’

85

3.10. Conclusion

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4. Modernity, cosmopolitan-enlightenment and status: The manifestations of South Korea’s new nationalism 4.1. Introduction 91 4.2. Modernity

92

4.2.1. The modern nation and national pride

92

4.2.2.

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A modern culture and national pride xviii

4.3. Cosmopolitan-enlightenment

101

4.3.1. The environmental and well-being movement and national identity

102

4.3.2. Savoir faire, worldliness and national identity

105

4.4. Status

112

4.4.1. The importance of national status

113

4.4.2. Hallyu

116

4.4.3. Historical accuracy

117

Dokdo

117

History textbooks in Japan

118

The East Sea / Sea of Japan

119

Goguryeo

119

4.5. Conclusion

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5. The emergence of a globalised-cultural nationalism 5.1. Introduction

125

5.2. Globalised-cultural nationalism, inclusion and the new South Korean national unit 127 5.2.1. Globalised-cultural nationalism and the Korean media

130

5.2.2.

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Mixed-race Koreans and globalised-cultural nationalism

5.3. Exclusion and the new South Korean globalised-cultural nationalism 5.3.1. The ‘hierarchical nation’

135 139

5.4. Class and cultural nationalism

142

5.5. Conclusion

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6. The role of globalisation, democracy and banal nationalism in the emergence of a new South Korean nation 6.1. Introduction

147

6.2. Globalisation

148

6.2.1. Attitudes to globalisation

148

6.2.2. Globalisation, global networks and travel

151

6.3. Democracy

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6.3.1. Popular sovereignty

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6.3.2. Immigration

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6.3.3. Education

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6.3.4. Taiwan, ‘Taiwanisation’ and democracy 6.4. Banal nationalism

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6.4.1. Patterns of belief and practice and flagging the nation of Korea 6.4.1.1.

6.4.1.2.

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In politics

173

We, our, us: uri

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Naming of the nation

175

History

176

North Korea

177

Newspapers and media

178

Uri nara

179

North Korea and the ‘other’

181

Patriotism and nationalist sentiment

182

6.4.2. The universal code of nationality

183

6.4.3. Forgetting the North

184

6.5. Conclusion

185

7. Globalisation and the manifestations of South Korean nationalism 7.1. Introduction

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7.2. Globalisation, national branding and the characteristics of modernity, cosmopolitanenlightenment and status

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7.2.1. Branding Korea

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Transcript of G20 Summit advertisement

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Transcript of PCNB ‘Global Citizens’ advertisement

195

Transcript of KOBACO ‘I am Korea’ advertisement

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7.2.2. The ‘Korean Brand’ and expressions of globalised-cultural nationalism

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Contributive Korea

198

Innovative Korea

199

Captivating Korea

199

Multicultural Korea

201

Global Korea

201

7.2.3. Interaction between the isipdae’s national aspirations and the ‘Korea Brand’ 202 7.3. Globalisation, neo-liberal values and South Korean nationalism 7.3.1. Cosmopolitan-enlightenment

203 204

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7.3.2. Modernity

209

7.3.3. Status

210

7.4. Conclusion

212

8. Globalisation, the competitive society and risk: Embracing, adopting and accepting the South Korean identity 8.1. Introduction

215

8.2. Globalisation and the rise of competition in South Korean youth society

216

8.2.1. Education

216

8.2.2. Employment

222

8.3. The 1997 Economic Crisis and German Unification: Concerns of South Korean isipdae 228 8.3.1. The 1997 Asian Economic Crisis 228 8.3.2. German Unification

230

8.4. Adoption and acceptance of a South Korean identity: Instrumental choices and constructed identities

232

8.5. Conclusion

9.

239

Conclusion 9.1. Introduction

241

9.2. Overview of theoretical framework and contributions

241

9.3. Empirical findings

244

9.3.1. The emergence of the South Korean nation

244

9.3.2. Globalised-cultural nationalism

246

9.3.3. The role of construction and choice in the emergence of South Korean nationalism

247

9.4. The wider implications of the emergence of South Korean globalised-cultural nationalism

251

9.4.1. Exclusion

251

9.4.2. Unification

253

Appendices Appendix 1

255 Methodology

255

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Appendix 2

Information sheet for interviewees (in English translation)

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Appendix 3

Information sheet for interviewees (in Korean)

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Appendix 4

Consent form (in English translation)

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Appendix 5

Consent form (in Korean)

275

Appendix 6

Interview questions for students

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Appendix 7

Inauguration speech of President Roh Moo-hyun (in Korean)

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Appendix 8

Inauguration speech of President Roh Moo-hyun (in English translation)

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Appendix 9

Inauguration speech of President Lee Myung-bak (in Korean)

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Appendix 10 Inauguration speech of President Lee Myung-bak (in English translation) 311

Bibliography

323

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 1 Table 2 Table 3 Table 4 Table 5 Table 6 Table 7 Table 8 Table 9

Appearance of North Korea and unification-related words in two student 61 newspapers Attitudes to unification by age 63 South Korean perceptions of language difference between North and 68 South Korea ‘One people’ as a motivation for unification by age 74 Motivation for unification with the North amongst South Korean young 79 people What territory constitutes ‘uri nara’? 86 The nation with whom South Korean young people feel most closely 95 associated Importance of tradition in South Korea by age group 97

Table 10

Requirement for South Korean citizenship of Korean ethnic ancestry by 128 age group Geographic distribution of Korean diaspora (2011) 137

Table 11

Attitudes toward ethnic diversity by age group

139

Table 12

Growth in number of South Korean travellers aged 21-30

152

Table 13

Destinations of South Korean travellers aged 21-30

154

Table 14

Ranking of fifty national brands in 2009

190

Table 15

Number of young people with NEET status (not in education, 223 employment or training) in South Korea Comparisons between actual and reservation wage 225

Table 16

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3

Theoretical framework for analysing the newly emerged South Korean 6 nationalism The ‘School Food’ chain and examples of its modern Korean menu 100

Figure 4

Examples of Dokdo campaign advertisements placed in international 118 media The nation’s weather 180

Figure 5

Examples of G20 Summit logos and promotion across Seoul

192

Figure 6

Images from the G20 Summit advertisement

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Figure 7

Images from ‘Global Citizen’ advertisement

196

Figure 8

Image from the ‘I am Korea’ advertisement

197

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